and a number of other tracks (including "Respect"). There was a slight discrepancy in the tape recording speed of the Muscle Shoals FAME studio and the Atlantic's New York studio recorders. The foundation track of "Do Right Woman" recorded at Muscle Shoals and the subsequent tracks added at Atlantic's New York studio are very slightly out of tune with each other. Reception Billboard described "I Never Loved a Man" as "a powerful blues wailer that will create much excitement in both pop and r&b markets." It rose to #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became Franklin's first #1 hit on the R&B charts. It was also the title of Franklin's first Atlantic LP. Franklin would soon become a superstar after the release of this song. The song has since been called a pivotal moment in rock and roll. It ranked #189 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Personnel Musicians Source (album credits): Aretha Franklin – piano, vocals Spooner Oldham – keyboards, piano Jimmy Johnson, Chips Moman – guitar Tommy Cogbill – bass guitar Gene Chrisman, Roger Hawkins – drums Melvin Lastie – trumpet Charles Chalmers, King Curtis – tenor saxophone Willie Bridges – baritone saxophone Carolyn Franklin – background vocals Erma Franklin – background vocals Cissy Houston – background vocals Technical Produced by Rick Hall (FAME Studios, Muscle Shoals, AL) Tom Dowd – arranger, recording engineer Arif Mardin – recording engineer Legacy The creation of the song is related in the 2005 BBC Two documentary series Soul Deep, including interviews with the original personnel including Franklin, Shannon (demonstrating the central riff on electric piano), and Wexler. Swedish pop group Roxette included the song in their MTV Unplugged show, in 1993. The song was later covered by Aerosmith as "Never Loved a Girl" on 2004's Honkin' on Bobo a collection of old blues and R&B songs. The song has also been performed on American Idol by contestants Sabrina Sloan in season 6 and Alexis Grace in season 8. Both performances received much acclaim. Grammy Award winners Alicia Keys, Kelly Clarkson, Spencer Wiggins and Jennifer Hudson have also covered the song. There are a number of renditions of this song on YouTube including Franklin performing it on the Lady Soul special from 1968. A live recording featured on the album "Aretha in Paris" (1968). The song was sung by Maria Doyle in the 1991 Alan